The Nurse Practitioner's Immuniser Role in Primary Healthcare: A Scoping Review

This scoping review aimed to explore and identify literature about the scope of practice for nurse practitioners working as immunisers in primary healthcare.

The review was conducted according to the JBI scoping review framework.

A comprehensive literature search was conducted on 11 December 2023 to identify primary studies examining the role of nurse practitioners in immunisation delivery within global primary healthcare settings. The inclusion criteria were limited to peer-reviewed primary research that specifically examined nurse practitioners' roles in primary healthcare settings in immunisation clinics and/or administering immunisations. Data were systematically extracted using a data extraction table, and article screening was independently performed by two reviewers. Reporting of findings was guided by the PRISMA-ScR checklist.

Medline, Scopus and CINAHL including peer-reviewed literature from January 2000 to December 2023.

A total of 1025 articles were identified; following screening and removal of duplicates, 52 articles underwent full-text screening and 8 articles that met the inclusion criteria were included in this review. Themes were identified using a qualitative descriptive approach: nurse practitioner scope of practice in primary healthcare; nurse practitioners addressing service gaps in primary healthcare; and the nurse practitioner's role in immunisation provision in primary healthcare.

Findings suggest that the roles and responsibilities of nurse practitioners working in primary healthcare are highly variable. Little research has been conducted to explore the nurse practitioner's immuniser role in primary healthcare.

No patient or public involvement was included in this scoping review.

This review provides insight into the current knowledge about the Nurse Practitioner Immuniser role in Primary Healthcare. While Nurse Practitioners have contributed to public immunisation efforts globally, the role and scope of nurse practitioner immunisers in primary healthcare are still evolving.